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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

The Somali measles outbreak in Minnesota: Thanks again, Andy (and American antivaxers), for the measles

Antivaxers targeted a. vulnerable community of Somali immigrants in Minnesota. The result: A large (and growing) measles outbreak. Thanks, Andy.

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Quackery

The FDA cracks down on bogus cancer “cures.” Will this be the last time this happens until after Trump?

This week, the FDA sent warning letters to 14 companies making unsupported claims that their products can treat cancer. Given the new administration’s determination to deregulate almost everything, but especially the FDA, is this the last time in the foreseeable future that such a crackdown will occur?

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Cancer Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

The “war on cancer”: We’re doing better than commonly portrayed

If you were to rely on much of what you see in the mainstream media and on social media, you probably have the impression that we are not doing very well against cancer. Indeed, a common trope I see in a lot of articles is that we are somehow “losing” the war on cancer. Just […]

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Religion Science Surgery

An uncomfortable question when you least expect it

When you’re in an exam room with a patient, sometimes you’re forced to contemplate uncomfortable questions.

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Pseudoscience Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking

How do we resist the rising tide of antiscience and pseudoscience?

The impetus for the creation of this blog, lo these 12+ years ago, was growing alarm at the rising tide of pseudoscience then, such as quackery, antivaccine misinformation, creationism, Holocaust denial, and many other forms of attacks on science, history, and reality itself. I had cut my teeth on deconstructing such antiscience and pseudoscience on […]